Vail

Vail is our last stop on this Colorado Rockies excursion. Before I forget, if you choose to vacation to a ski (or winter sports) location during a none-skiing time, be careful. We found that these areas had strong winter and summer activities, but during the "shoulder seasons" (or what some called the Rollover Period), lots of activities and eateries shut down. For Fall, that's September and October with each area having their own particular dates for the off time. Be sure to check. All the photos are here.

Breckenridge | Glenwood Springs | Vail

Betty Ford Alpine Gardens

Apparently the official Fall colors of Colorado are green,
yellow, and orange (deciduous) and blues/greens (evergreen).

Is that what I think it is? Middle of Vail Village.

We caught the last day of OktoberFest.

Lots of vendors and farmers' market,
but surprisingly not very many beer sellers.

The girls took a river rafting trip, Timberline Tours.

Class II.

That's our suite on the top floor.

Westside Cafe. Fabulous bloody mary with all manner of veggies and a
sidecar of amber ale. And their Avocado Toast with fried egg was scrumptious.

The Red Lion for lunch.

The Ski Trooper

Anne of Green Gables rehearsal

September 16th partial dress rehearsal at the studio... Photos by Kayla Coburn.

Glenwood Springs

Nana, Papa, and the Underwoods spent a couple days in Glenwood Springs after their Breckenridge stay. The drive from Breck to Glenwood Springs was gorgeous, Fall colors everywhere. All the photos are here. On to Vail...

Breckenridge | Glenwood Springs | Vail

Hotel Colorado. Built in 1893, we're counting this gem on our "great lodges"
list. The hotel got a new owner just last May who happened to be there this
weekend celebrating the hotel's 125th anniversary.

View to the west from the tram up to
Glenwood Caverns.

Glenwood Caverns.

Glenwood Hot Springs Resort (right next to Hotel Colorado). We didn't
go there, but it's part of the view that got Jamie interested in visiting
Glenwood Springs when passing through by train in 2005 with his Dad.

Glenwood Springs train station.

Front courtyard at Hotel Colorado.
We enjoyed a number of meals and drinks at this spot.

Restaurant in Hotel Colorado.

This spiral staircase behind the hotel gift shop
was installed by the Navy when they used the
hotel as a Navy hospital.

The 125th anniversary included tours of the hotel
and grounds by "realtime" characters.

East bound Amtrak's California Zephyr leaving Glenwood Springs station.

Iron Mountain Hot Springs.

Riviera Supper Club and Piano Bar. One of the many delights at this establishment
was Jonathan Gorst, Music Director/Principle Conductor for the National Tour
of The Phantom of the Opera 2007-2012. He entertained us all evening singing
and playing the piano. Our kind of music: musical theatre sprinkled with ol'
favorites like Mister Bojangles and Scott Joplin. Food was great, too. Among
the many requests he accepted, mine was "More I Cannot Wish You" from
Guys and Dolls. Lynn's was "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables.

Jonny comes marching home...

After about ten days at Stanford for Jonny's Chiari decompression surgery, he and Tracy landed safely at Denver International earlier today. Here are a few more pics from recovery to home (collected mainly from Tracy's texts to the fam).

Jonny had some VIP visitors, including Nathan, Janice, and Jeanette.

There were some pretty cool displays there.

Recovery required an IV in the leg.

Yeah, he's eating!

Can you believe it, trains!

Tracy baiting Nana. She found Nana's favorite lotion
at a store right by Stanford.

And French pastries!

Matt kept the home front going, often with pancakes.

Colorado here we come. Their flight home got postponed
a few days due to Jonny's difficult recovery. Have you
noticed that trademark Jonny smile coming back!